My current training loadout is as follows. I say current delicately as my kit is constantly evolving.

Starting from head to toe, first up is my kevlar. It is an LWH with Ops-Core VAS Shroud, Oregon Aero BLSS Kit, Surefire Helmet light, and MS2000 attached with Velcro. The helmet was a cost effective solution to having personal head protection and a platform for NVGs. That said, my very next large purchase will be an Ops-Core FAST helmet. Having tried out my buddies, there is absolutely no comparison in comfort. I thought that my current setup was decent (decent being not such a horrible headache at the end of a day...) but the FAST is leaps and bounds ahead anything else I have tried. Side note for those who may be wondering: I run Peltor Soundtraps under the LWH by removing the top large circular pad from the helmet and configure a open channel in the rest of the pads for the headband to run through. They do fit, but it is tight and the primary reason for discomfort especially when used with eye-pro. I have tried Sordins and could not get them to fit at all as they are a bit more bulky.

Next up is my SPC. I wanted to keep the front one mag shingle thick, to aid in overall maneuverability, and shooting in the prone. Also wanted to keep the right side as slick as possible for ease of draw.

Armor:
- Medium E-SAPIs front and rear
- PACA soft armor inserts in the cummerbund
- SPC's come with sewn in soft armor front and rear
Pouches (starting top to bottom left to right):
- MSM Patch Panel w/ Write in the rain pad
- Blue Force Gear Tourniquet NOW with CAT
- Surefire V70 with 6P/G2 abortion (going to upgrade to a 6PX Tactical)
- Tactical Tailor triple shingle with modified Esstac Kydex inserts. The inserts were cut down width wise, and height wise on the side towards the PC. This was done to lesson retention as I have found when they are inserted in non-Esstac pouches the retention is FAR too much. The why: I strongly prefer to run my pouches open-top and always discard the elastic retention straps. Reason being is mostly due to speed, but also retention straps can make tactical-reloads quite tricky. The TT triple shingle is a bit loose to begin with, which might have been crucial in getting the Esstac inserts to work. Due to the looseness and lack of retention straps, sometimes diving prone I would lose a mag or two. I was actually running the TT triple shingle for quite a while and had the Esstac inserts just lying around waiting to go in my Boar. Having both components on hand, I thought I would see if I could make them work. If I didn't have either I would definitely just go straight to buying the Esstac Pouch/inserts. All things considered, I am extremely happy with my setup as I have dialed in the pouches to the exact retention levels I want. For example my go-to pouch for speed reloads has a bit less retention than the other two...
- Tactical Tailor single shingle
- TAG double Universal Pistol Mag Enhanced pouch. My personal favorite pistol mag pouch (so far), uses elastic + magnets for retention. Open top, so speed reloads are fast, yet retention is plenty strong to retain mags during rigorous activities. Tac-reloads are also easy as the pouches don't completely close up when empty.
- Fight and Flight Tactical Sustainment pouch w/ Source bladder. This thing is perfect height for the shorter PCs, good quality and a great price. Only gripe is it doesn't come with a hydration port or bladder hanger. My carrier was modified by So-Tech who installed a large black grommet to route my hydration hose through, forgot to get a hanger sewn in...

Front

Left

Right

Back

Belt kit: (I had a few modifications done that are covered HERE. )
- ATS War belt
- 215 Gear Ultimate Riggers Belt as an inner belt
- Benchmade Model 7 Rescue Hook
- TAG double Universal Pistol Mag Enhanced pouch
- Blue Force Gear Ten-Speed SSE pouch. I personally don't train on dump pouches, but do know that having one can prove to be very useful if not vital for other tasks beyond just magazines. The BFG Ten-Speed SSE fills that niche perfectly for me, by being completely out of the way most of the time but there when I need it. The slim profile of the pouch is crucial as I need to access my IFAK, and other pouches such as Rolly-Pollys inhibit this.
- ICE Tactical Detachable Belt Mounted IFAK mounted at the 6 o'clock. I had some Velcro added to the rear of the pouch for various patches. Contents include: HALO Chest Seal, 4 inch OALES bandage, SWAT-T Tourniquet, 15g Celox, Kerlix Gauze, NPA + Lube, Nitrile Gloves. The why: I personally keep "prime real-estate" for gear that is keeping me IN the fight. That primarily entails my mags, and by prime real-estate I am referring to the center-line of my PC. After mags, I have a flashlight and tourniquet because I feel they are both essential yet, small enough to not be in the way at all. Past the right of my Tourniquet I will not mount ANYTHING, as I don't want to even chance having a hang-up when drawing my secondary. Where the MSM patch panel sits would NOT be an option for an IFAK as my stock rests pretty much on-top of that and I do train ambidextrously often, so pushing it to one side wouldn't work for me. The patch panel is so flat that I barely even notice it's there, especially with my write in the rain pad that I have torn out about half the pages from and hammered the bindings to make them thinner. (Yes I am weird, perhaps a bit OCD, but I like my kit as good as I can get it...) Mounting my IFAK to the left of my pistol mag pouch on my SPC would also not be a viable option as it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to access. All in all, I look at my IFAK as a piece of kit that I only need when I am OUT of the fight. Therefore, to me, it is not worth sacrificing "prime real-estate" on the front of my kit for. There is also a benefit to having it directly at my 6 o'clock, and that is that I can easily access the pouch with both hands. That way if I am injured on one arm the other arm can still access the pouch. Everything is a compromise, and my way is just what works for me. The setup will most likely change when a better way comes along; as I said before my gear setup is constantly evolving.
- Safariland 6004 for M&P.45 w/x300 w/ Strider EB-AC attached in kydex sheath

How did you secure the Surefire holster to the molle? I have the same and cannot figure out how to attach it. Mine can only have a belt slid through it.

I attached a Malice Clip on the cummerbund right where I wanted the light holster. I then attached the holster with four zip-ties to the Malice Clip. Its cave man simple and more than strong enough. Just make sure to use some quality zip-ties. If you stack the zip-ties the right way and pull them tight enough the v70 won't budge.

I attached a Malice Clip on the cummerbund right where I wanted the light holster. I then attached the holster with four zip-ties to the Malice Clip. Its cave man simple and more than strong enough. Just make sure to use some quality zip-ties. If you stack the zip-ties the right way and pull them tight enough the v70 won't budge.

Thanks I really appreciate that. I saw that set up on one of Haley's rigs but knew I would never get an answer. I ordered some Malice Clips and will rig it when they come in. I love that v70 and couldnt find anything that I liked as much. My v70 is 14 years old.

__________________The liberal see's the glass as half full and tries to take more.
The conservative see's glass as half empty and tries to keep it that way.
I'm with the people on the side just pouring water in the glass trying to get a drink!

Here's my Eagle Industries maritime ciras desert tan vest with 6 condor tactical double m4 mag pouches and 5 pistol mag pouches. waiting for a good deal on some plates this week or next I'm sure I'll find em'. Couldn't find any pouches from Eagle so I opted for condor, sucks but still a good product. Need to get a dump pouch next. Any recommendations on a good plate set up with out having to pay 600 bucks? I've seen some Isreal Military plates on ebay new for 299 level III stuff don't know if I should go for it.

Here is my son's set up for his GSG-5 and usually has a 9 on his holster that the family usually shares when we go shooting. He's got one of those suspended tactical battle belts that I picked up from Condor with a triple mag pouch that holds the gsg5 mags perfect when couple together. The pistol mag pouch is made by tuff products and they even have a 8 mag carrier, which I think is great for competition but too bulky for me/my son. I got him some 5.11 tactical pro pants and he has a blast when we do some tactical training together. Gotta do something to get him off his *** on his PS3! lol

Here's my Eagle Industries maritime ciras desert tan vest with 6 condor tactical double m4 mag pouches and 5 pistol mag pouches. waiting for a good deal on some plates this week or next I'm sure I'll find em'. Couldn't find any pouches from Eagle so I opted for condor, sucks but still a good product. Need to get a dump pouch next. Any recommendations on a good plate set up with out having to pay 600 bucks? I've seen some Isreal Military plates on ebay new for 299 level III stuff don't know if I should go for it.

In a plate carrier I would either go with level 3a soft armor or level 4 plates. If I'm gonna wear a plate it's gonna be level 4, otherwise it's just soft armor.

The majority of plates you will find are level III and meant to be run in conjunction with soft armor backers. There are indeed level IV plates that do not require backers, however I would much prefer to run a backer even with a level IV. If you are going to be buying ceramic plates second hand I would be cautious, and make sure the seller is trustworthy. If ceramic plates are dropped or even mishandled they can crack, which extremely degrades the ballistic integrity of the plate. These might be non-visible cracks, completely unnoticeable to a prospective buyer. You can always get them x-rayed to check for cracks, but that is a bit of a PITA... You can generally find steel plates for much cheaper, and also with no worries of cracks... They will be heavier though. Armor is one place I wouldn't want to cheap out. IMHO

Also make sure that the manufacturer of ballistic plates has strict NIJ standards for ballistic protection. Most manufacturer will test plates and claim to be up to par with NIJ guidelines/standards and testing...
Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor NIJ Standard-0101.06 is a NIJ Standard that establishes minimum performance requirements and test methods for the ballistic resistance of personal body armor designed to protect the torso against gunfire. The standard is limited to ballistic resistance only and does not address resistance from knives or other sharply pointed objects. It reviews NIJ body armor classifications, details requirements (i.e., acceptance criteria, workmanship, armor backing material, and so forth), and discusses test methods (i.e., velocity measurement equipment, wet conditioning, test preparation, and so forth). This standard supersedes NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements, Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor (August 2005) and also supersedes NIJ Standard-0101.04 Rev. A, Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor (June 2001).

On a side note, ESAPI plates are true stand alone plates even though they are rated at Level III protection. I would recommend Ceradyne plates if you can find them.

__________________
"Americans used to roar like lions for liberty;now we bleat﻿ like sheep for security."

Thanks for all the advise guys, didn't know too much about what plates to get other than the higher the number the better. But I guess I'm gonna crack down 6 bills and get the good ones I guess. On another note did anybody hear any info on the ban of ballistic plates/armor??

If something like that were going on you'd see it being discussed in the 2A Politics and Laws forum here on Calguns. Gun store counter jockeys** and "the guy at the gun show" can usually be counted on to tell you the opposite of what's true, especially if they're trying to sell you something.

Legislation is complicated and it's a long process to get to even get anything to the assembly and senate floor for debate in the first place, much less getting a vote and getting it passed and signed.

**There are a few gun stores with truly knowledgeable folks. Generally they are the ones that can be found here on calguns.